During the last decades various techniques were developed in order to reduce the power consumption of integrated circuits. One of these techniques is known as power gating. Power gating involves selectively providing power to a circuit of the integrated circuit. A power gating circuit is connected between a gated power grid and a circuit of the integrated circuit. During a power gating period the circuit is disconnected from the gated power grid and its power consumption is drastically reduced. During an operational period the power supply circuit is open and provides power to the circuit. In order to minimize power loss (also known as IR drop) during the operational period the impedance of the power supply circuit should be as low as possible.
The design of a integrated circuit and, additionally or alternatively, the manner in which the integrated circuit assets are being used can be affected by the current consumption of various circuits of the integrated circuit. Current measurement of circuits of a integrated circuit can assist in evaluating the performance of the various circuits of the integrated circuit and can be helpful during integrated circuit software validation and development stages. Circuits can be re-designed and additionally or alternatively, software that uses the circuit can be re-programmed in view of the power consumption of the circuit.
The overall current drained by a integrated circuit can be evaluated by probing the external pins of the integrated circuit. This evaluation does not shed light on the current consumed by different circuits of the integrated circuit.